On October 7, more than 200 volunteers joined Natural Lands Trust, KaBOOM, PECO, and city officials to build a new community playground at Patton/West End Park in Coatesville, Chester County.
The playground was designed in August by a planning committee, which incorporated the input of local children in its choices of equipment and color. It includes swings, slides, climbing equipment, and other features. The playground also complies with the Americans with Disabilities Act Act, ensuring that it will be a resource for all of the area’s 750 kids. There are only two other playgrounds in the city, and both have unsafe and outdated equipment.
“It’s been well established that children who play outdoors, whether in a natural setting or at a local playground, experience significant benefits in mental and physical health,” said Molly Morrison, president of Natural Lands Trust. “We are delighted to be working with our partners at PECO and the city to create new opportunities for outdoor play and to advance the broader vision for a thriving parks system in Coatesville.”
Volunteers completed the playground assembly in less than six hours. They mixed and poured thousands of pounds of concrete and moved enough safety surfacing to cover more than nine full-sized basketball courts. This was the fifth park built by the KaBOOM-PECO partnership.
